Chapter 32 : truth
Prince Duryodhan, I am not worthy of becoming your friend, so please forgive me for refusing your offer of friendship.
I declined it politely, but Duryodhan did not like that, because it was the first time he had ever extended a hand of friendship to someone. So he said,
"I already told you that you are my new friend. No more questions. And why are you addressing me as 'Prince'? Call me Duryodhan."
Duryodhan pretended to be a little angry. I had no intention of becoming friends with him, but seeing his stubbornness, I had no choice but to accept his proposal.
"Hey Duryodhan, get up. How long are you planning to lie on the ground like this?"
The tone of my speech changed. Now, as a friend, I didn't use any respectful words.
Now it was Duryodhan's turn to be stunned.
So quickly—this was something even I hadn't expected. His tone changed just as fast. That meant he had never really seen me as a prince in the first place.
Duryodhan looked up at me and said, "Who was the one who knocked me down? Did I fall on my own? Come on, help me get up."
"Hm, I'm coming."
Saying this, I bent down, placed his hand on my shoulder, and slowly helped Duryodhan to his feet.
"Ahh… ahh…"
Duryodhan groaned softly in pain. He had a few scratches on his back, but no serious injuries.
Now he was standing upright. Then he asked, "By the way, I still don't know your name."
"Are you asking my name? My name is Karn."
I introduced myself. Hearing this, Duryodhan stared at me in a strange way. Sensing it, I asked,
"Did I say something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You only told me your name and nothing else like your family. Seeing your golden armor, it looks like you come from a royal family."
Duryodhan explained his reason, then asked me to tell him about my family.
To that question, I gave the same answer I give to everyone who asks,
"I am an orphan."
"Do you think I'm a child you can fool so easily?" Duryodhan looked at me with a sarcastic gaze, as if saying it wasn't that easy to make a fool of him.
"Your statement is slightly wrong. You are a child—and you're three years younger than me," I countered, pointing a finger at him.
"Don't try to change the topic. If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you."
At first, Duryodhan got a little angry, but after a while he realized that it wasn't right to question a new friend so forcefully.
If it had been someone else, Duryodhan would have chosen the most cruel way to extract the truth.
"There's no compulsion I can tell you But I'll give you one warning: after knowing this, you might wish it would have been better not to hear it."
I warned Duryodhan before saying anything further.
"Alright, we'll see about that later. Go on, speak."
Duryodhan didn't think any further and told me to continue.
"The thing I said earlier about being an orphan that was completely false. The truth is that I come from a royal family. It pains me to say this, but I am the eldest son of Queen Kunti, the one who was abandoned after birth."
The moment Duryodhan heard this much from me, he was struck by a great shock. He had expected that I might have some special identity, but he had never imagined it would be this extraordinary.
"What? Are you truly Aunt Kunti's son? If that's the case, then you would be my cousin… but why did Aunt abandon you?"
As he spoke, Duryodhan began to stammer. After some time, he somehow managed to digest the shock, and then a question struck him why had his aunt done such a thing? That was why he asked.
"Oh, so that's the reason. You must already know that Queen Kunti had received a boon from the sage Durvasa, because of which she could obtain a son from any god.
When she wished for me from my father, the Sun God Surya, she was not yet married and was still unmarried.
Therefore, out of fear that people would laugh at her, Queen Kunti abandoned me her eldest son.
I said this with great composure, as if it made no difference to me at all."
"Then according to this, you are the eldest among all of us and could become the future king of Hastinapur. But I want to become the king. It would have been better if I had refused to hear this earlier."
He first showed his shock, and then, recalling what I had told him, he felt regret.
"You don't need to worry. I may be the elder brother to all of you, but I can never belong to the Kuru dynasty. So there's no need for you to be concerned at all. And even if I did belong, I would never become the king of Hastinapur."
I explained this to Duryodhan, and in the end, with a look of disdain on my face, I said that I had no intention of becoming a king.
Duryodhan felt relieved when he saw that I had no interest in becoming king, and from my words he understood that I was not lying. However, after hearing my final sentence,
he couldn't believe it he had never imagined that someone could look down upon the throne of Hastinapur with such indifference.
Becoming king was one of the greatest goals in his mind, but when someone came along and told him that being a king was meaningless, he simply couldn't digest it.
Since childhood, his uncle Shakuni had planted these ideas in his mind that becoming the king of Hastinapur was his rightful claim,
that no one was greater than a king, that below the gods the king was supreme, that everyone must obey the king's commands, and many such beliefs his uncle had deeply ingrained in him.
That was why this idea had become deeply rooted in his mind that only by becoming king could he rise above everyone in their eyes, and that no one would dare to discriminate against him.
But now my words had slightly shaken that deeply ingrained belief, and a thought arose in his mind: was his goal of becoming king really not such a great thing?
That was why he decided to ask me the reason behind my words.
"Karna, why are you looking down upon the royal throne of Hastinapur with such a low regard?" Duryodhan asked.
"Why shouldn't I see it that way?" I replied. "In a kingdom where control over different powers lies in the hands of different people, no decision can be approved unless it is discussed with ministers, royal scholars,
and other important figures and even then, one must ensure that the decision does not harm anyone's interests."
"In the end, if the king of a state does not have full control over his own kingdom, has to agree to everyone on every matter, and cannot take any important action on his own what else can he be called, if not a puppet?"
"Karna, I didn't fully understand what you said, but I understood one thing very clearly: if I truly want to become the king of Hastinapur, then I will have to bring the entire control of the kingdom into my own hands."
Duryodhan had now found himself a new aim.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but shake my head. There was still room for improvement in Duryodhan; till now, he had not become a completely evil man.
That is why there was a need to guide him onto a good path, one where he would not commit deeds that go against human morality.
Apart from this, whatever else Duryodhan chose to do did not concern me.
Because I do not believe that anything beyond this can simply be classified as good or bad.
A good deed can be bad for someone, and a bad deed can be good for someone; that is why I believe in this principle.
I came out of my thoughts and looked at Duryodhan.
"I'm leaving now. It's already very late, and I have to wake up early tomorrow," I said, telling Duryodhan that I should go.
But he shook his head. "No, you're not going anywhere. Instead, you're coming with me."
"Where?" I asked.
"To the royal feast. It will start in a few hours, so come with me. And after knowing all this, how could I let you go? You're my friend and indirectly, you're my brother as well."
Duryodhan looked at me with a smile.
"By the way, Duryodhan," I called out.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Duryodhan, do you consider me your brother or your friend? If you consider me your brother, then I would be a few years older than you.
But if you consider me your friend, then there's no age difference between us—we're equals. So tell me, what do you consider me?" I asked.
"What are you talking about, Karna?" Duryodhan replied. "You're my friend. And as for this brother thing, I haven't heard anything about that. How could you be my brother?"
Duryodhan pretended to be completely unaware of the brotherly connection.
Seeing his act, I burst out laughing. Then the two of us set off from there together.
To be continued...